


Held Up

by Joycee



Series: Aphrodisiac [3]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Blackmail, Drug Use, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 19:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4576986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joycee/pseuds/Joycee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter is blackmailed by the targets of his investigation who have a video of him having sex with Neal on the job. Neal has to go undercover to get it back before anyone else sees it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Held Up

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel to my story Winding It Up

FBI Agent Peter Burke stared at the package he had just opened like it was a bomb about to go off. In it was a camera disk with what looked like porn movies starring himself and his CI, Neal Caffrey. With it was a note, short and to the point, saying, “Drop your investigation now or this goes public.”

Peter wiped off the sheen of sweat that had spread across his brow. He hid the package quickly before his wife, Elizabeth, could see it. Then he got out his phone and called Neal Caffrey.

“Good morning, Peter!” chirped Neal, entirely too cheerfully.

“I need to see you right away," Peter said tersely. “I’m coming over.”

Neal gazed at his phone and wondered what could have made Peter so upset.

When Peter arrived he demanded tersely, “Put this disk in your computer.”

Neal blushed as he recognized himself and Peter kissing and rutting together in a hotel room. They were under the influence of a new aphrodisiac drug they had taken while they were undercover investigating a pharmaceutical company. “Where did this come from, Peter?” he asked quietly.

“Don’t know,” answered Peter seriously. “Only a few people knew we would be in that hotel room that day.”

“Maybe all the rooms have cameras and some employee got lucky that day?” wondered Neal.

“Nope. You didn’t see the note that came with this,” said Peter, handing the note to him.

Neal gasped, “Do you think it was the pharmaceutical company?”

Peter shook his head. “I thought of that, but they didn’t know we were going to the hotel. Even if they followed us, how would they have had time to get a camera hidden?”

“The only ones who did know we were going there were Diana and Jones and the guard they posted,” concluded Neal. “Hidden camera has FBI written all over it.”

Peter objected, “I just can’t believe Diana could have had anything to do with this, but that still wouldn’t explain who sent this or how they got it.”

Neal agreed, “Somehow, someone got this. They must think we know who they are since the note is unsigned.

“You knew we were going there, Neal,” Peter said in a low voice.

“What?” Neal said disbelievingly, “Peter, you can’t think I had anything to do with this?”

“Tell me you didn’t, Neal. I need to hear it,” demanded Peter.

Neal felt hurt that Peter could even suspect him, but he reassured him anyway, “Of course, I didn’t have anything to do with it! Remember, I was the one who removed the FBI mics from our bodies when we got there.”

“That’s true. I’m sorry. I’m just freaked out about this,” apologized Peter.

“There’s no sound on this recording,” Neal pointed out. “It was just a camera, a wide-angle camera aimed toward the bed.”

“I guess,” Peter confessed, “I haven’t even watched the whole thing through yet.”

“When did you get the package?” asked Neal.

“It was delivered to my home this morning. I found it on the doorstep, addressed to me,” Peter explained.

“You still have the package with the label?” confirmed Neal. “Of course,” Peter sighed.

“Well, you have to get that fingerprinted right away,” Neal suggested. “Maybe we can at least get a clue who delivered it to you.”

Peter put his head in his hands and said mournfully, “Neal, this is the end of my career, maybe even the end of my marriage. I can’t believe I was this stupid.”

Neal felt a pang of guilt. “It was my stupid idea,” he admitted. “Underbrook must have been suspicious and had us followed when we left his office. It’s got to be him.”

“Still doesn’t explain how they got the camera in the room,” said Peter, “unless they somehow knew our plans before we got there.”

“Are you going to show this to Diana?” asked Neal tentatively.

“How can I do that?” Peter cried. “She didn’t approve of the whole thing in the first place.”

“Did she disapprove enough to sabotage you?” Neal questioned.

“I just can’t believe she would ever do something like this,” Peter said. “I could never accuse her.”

“But you have to show it to her, Peter,” Neal insisted.

Peter broke down then. “I just can’t do that. I can’t do it.”

Neal put his arm around Peter’s shoulder, but Peter reflexively shrugged him off. Neal realized that Peter was feeling ashamed of their intimate relationship and didn’t want to acknowledge it. He slumped dejectedly into a chair and tried to think of a way out.

“What if we say it was sent to me?” Neal suggested. “I can take it to Diana. I’ll say you don’t even know about it yet. She won’t be too shocked. After all, she’s seen us in compromising positions a couple of times.”

Peter nodded slowly, “That might help. Maybe you wouldn’t even have to show her the whole thing, just enough to give her an idea of what’s on it.”

“It’s somewhere to start,” Neal allowed, breathing a sigh of relief, thinking maybe he could still find a way to at least salvage Peter’s reputation.

“You need to call in sick, Peter,” Neal realized Peter was in no condition to appear at the office.

“I can’t go home right now. I can’t face Elizabeth,” Peter mourned.

“Elizabeth knows about us, Peter. She’s okay with us, with our, uh, physical relationship,” Neal pointed out.

“But she’s never seen anything like the hot sex we had that day. I’ve never been that way with her,” Peter confessed.

Neal felt secretly pleased by that information. He offered, “You can stay here today. I’ll take the disk and go in to the office and tell Diana I want to talk to her while you’re not there.”

Peter was slumped in a chair with his arms resting on the table and his head in his hands. He just nodded without saying anything.

Neal pretended to be more cheerful than he felt and said, “OK, then. I’ll go to work. You’ll wait here.”

“Su casa es mi casa?” Peter mumbled wryly. Neal patted his shoulder and said, “Exactly. And su problemo es mi problemo."

When he got to the office, Neal found the atmosphere subdued since Peter almost never called in sick. Jones asked him right away if he knew if Peter was all right. Neal forced a grin and said mockingly, “That slacker? He probably just wanted to sleep late for a change.”

Neal quickly found an empty media room and made a copy of the incriminating disk. He stood on the chair and pushed up an acoustic ceiling tile and taped the copy to the top of it for safekeeping. Then he watched for an opportunity to talk to Diana privately. He finally just went over to her and asked, “Diana, um, do you think I could talk to you privately for a minute?”

When she gave him a suspicious look, he demurred, “It’s about a personal matter.”

Curious, she led Neal to Peter’s office and asked cooly, “OK, Caffrey, what is it?”

“Well, it’s kind of touchy,” Neal hedged, “I need you to promise you will keep this confidential.”

Diana refused. “I’m not going to promise anything until I know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, it might actually be a problem for Peter,” he told her.

“You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Peter,” she assured him. “I don’t think you would either.”

Neal batted his lashes over wide open blue eyes, the picture of innocence. “Of course not,” he said.

“Don’t bother to try to con me, Caffrey. Just tell me what the problem is,” Diana said harshly.

“OK, OK,“ Neal started, “Well, uh, I got this disk delivered to me, and it’s, well, it’s embarrassing.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s on the disk or do you want me to guess?” Diana asked, not trying to disguise her impatience.

Neal lowered his lashes and confessed, “Well, it’s footage of Peter and me in the hotel room the day we took the aphrodisiac. Looks like it’s from a hidden camera.”

Diana couldn’t hide her shock. “What? Where did it come from?” she stammered.

“That’s what I want to know,” Neal told her.

“Have you told Peter about this?” she questioned. “No,” Neal lied, “I was going to show him this morning, but then he didn’t come in.”

“I want to see the video. Did you bring it with you?” Diana demanded.

“It’s embarrassing,” Neal said. “Why do you have to see it?”

“Come on, Caffrey, this is no time to get shy. I’ve seen you naked more times than I like to remember,” she reminded him. “And I’ve caught you and Peter in some very compromising positions,” she added in a low voice. 

Neal gulped and nodded. “Now show me the goddamned video, Neal,” she insisted. 

Neal nodded again, but told her, “Not here.”

Diana visibly calmed herself and asked, “Then where?”

“Your place?” Neal asked hopefully.

Diana looked at him closely and then nodded and said slowly, “OK, then, let’s go.”

“Now?” Neal asked, with wide eyes, obviously surprised by her ready agreement. “Now,” she said firmly.

“OK, you drive,” he shrugged. He had the disk in a concealed pocket inside his jacket.

When they arrived at Diana’s home, she let him in after unlocking several strong locks and then disabling an electronic security system. Neal cracked, “Well, I guess we should be safe here.” Diana gave him a warning look, so he shut up.

“OK,” she said, “Hand it over. Let’s see what’s on it.”

“Don’t touch it anywhere but the edges,” he warned unnecessarily, “in case there are fingerprints.”

Diana gave him a withering look and reminded him, “I am an FBI agent. I know how to handle evidence.”

Neal sheepishly handed her the disk and she inserted it in her player and turned on the monitor. She gasped when she saw the same opening scenes of Peter and Neal that Peter had shown him that morning. Neal interjected quickly, “You get the idea. I don’t think there’s any reason to watch the whole thing right now.”

“Embarrassed, Caffrey?” Diana asked ironically. Neal nodded painfully. Diana watched a few more minutes and then took mercy on him and hit the pause button.

“How did you get this?” she asked curiously.

Neal shrugged and lied, “Someone left it on my doorstep.”

“When?” she pursued. “Today?”

Neal squirmed and said, “Yeah, um this morning.”

“Cut the crap, Caffrey!” Diana said sharply. “Now tell me the truth. Where did this come from?”

Neal hesitated and then said softly, “I just can’t tell you that right now.”

“So this has something to do with Peter not coming to the office this morning, I’m guessing,” she said shrewdly.

“Let’s assume that could be true,” admitted Neal. “Can you help?”

Diana studied him closely for a minute. Then she said, “Yes, I can. I know who put the camera in the room.”

“You do?” Neal exclaimed. “Who?”

“It was put there by a member of the guard team on my orders,” she said matter of factly.

Neal stared at her in disbelief. “Why?” he managed. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I didn’t trust you and Peter. I knew you would disable the mics we put on you. And you’d both forgotten almost everything that happened the first time you were given the drug. I just wanted some assurance that we’d get something out of the whole crazy exercise,” Diana told him.

“And you didn’t tell Peter?” Neal asked coldly. “You spied on your own boss?”

“Wait, I never saw what was on this. The same guard who planted the camera removed it as soon as you left and brought it to me immediately. I stored it in a secure box in the Evidence Room without looking at it since you two remembered enough about your experience the second time,” she explained.

“Then where did this come from?” Neal asked.

“That’s the question,” Diana said briskly. “Now let’s try to get some answers.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Neal curiously.

“Well, I’m going to start by looking into the guard who planted and removed the camera and the disk,” she told him. “Was there any kind of message with this disk when you received it?”

“Yes,” Neal admitted and told her what it said.

“OK, Caffrey, you did the right thing to come to me. Now I want you to go and tell Peter what I’ve told you. He has to believe that he can trust me to keep this secret while I investigate it,” she assured him.

Neal sighed and said, “Well, naturally he’s very upset about this. He’s afraid it’s going to ruin his career – and maybe his personal life, too.”

“Well, he should have realized a long time ago that something like this could happen,” Diana huffed.

“I guess he didn’t think a trusted member of his team would betray him,” retorted Neal.

“OK, OK, truce. Let’s just try to solve this problem right now,” Diane placated.

Neal returned to his apartment to find Peter well into a bottle of Scotch and feeling no pain.

“Hey Buddy!” Peter greeted him, “What’s up? Oh no, don’t tell me. Let me guess. It’s on the disk.”

Neal smiled and picked up the bottle of Scotch. He asked, “Think this is going to help, Peter?”

“Yes, that is helping Peter very much, thank you very much,” laughed Peter.

Neal put the bottle away and said, “Well, I think it’s helped enough for now. I found out some things, but I’m going to need you alert to work on it.”

“I’m very alert. I’m very calm. I’m a little drunk.” Peter told him.

“Yeah, how about some coffee?” Neal suggested.

“Well, okay, if you think so,” Peter agreed. He came over to Neal and put his arms around him from behind and nuzzled his neck. “At least, I’ve got you.” He slid one hand down to cup Neal’s junk through his pants and Neal responded involuntarily.

Neal removed Peter’s hand and said gently, “Not now. We need to get you sober so we can talk.”

“Don’t want to be sober,” protested Peter. “Want to go to bed with you.”

Neal handed him a cup of hot coffee. “Come sit down. I have some things to tell you.”

Peter reluctantly took the coffee and followed Neal to the couch. “Did you find out who sent the package?” he asked.

“Not yet, but I know who hid the camera,” Neal replied. “You’re not going to like it.”

Peter looked interested, “Was it that scumbag, Hal Underbrook at Maya Pharmaceuticals,” he asked.

“No,” Neal took a deep breath and told him, “It was Diana.”

Peter said sharply, “What?!” and spilled coffee in his lap. Neal took it from him and rushed to get a rag to wipe it up.

“I know it’s a shock, but she didn’t mean any harm. She just didn’t trust us to give a good account on the effects of the drug, so she had one of the men who guarded us hide the camera and remove it when we left. She says he brought it to her immediately and she put it away without looking at it,” Neal explained.

“She had no right to spy on me. I don’t care what her reasons were. Where is that camera now? Is that where the disk came from?” Peter sputtered, considerably sobered up by the news.

“She’s checking that right now. What I need to figure out is who would want to threaten you and what investigation do they want dropped,” Neal suggested.

“It’s got to be the Maya Pharmaceuticals case, doesn’t it?” Peter asked.

“Well, that seems likely, but not necessarily. Could be someone is using this for leverage on any of your cases. What we have to figure out is who it is and how they got the disk,” Neal speculated.

“I never should have put myself in this position,” worried Peter. “It was always a risk that someone could try to blackmail me. I’ll have to resign, if they’ll let me. Otherwise, they’ll fire me.”

“Well, as far as we can tell, no one knows about this except us and Diana right now, so there’s no need to do anything rash,” warned Neal.

“The guy who sent that package and note to me knows!” Peter pointed out.

“That’s why we need to get him as fast we can. We need to find out why he’s doing this and who he’s working with,” said Neal. His phone rang in his pocket and as he pulled it out, he saw that it was Diana.

“Caffrey,” he said, not wanting to reveal to Peter who was on the phone.

“I have some information for you. Are you with Peter?” Diana began.

“Yeah, he’s here with me,” Neal told her. “I filled him in as much as I could.”

“Can you put us on speaker then? He needs to hear this,” she said.

“OK, but Diana, he’d drunk quite a bit of Scotch when I got here,” he warned.

“I’m fine,” grouched Peter. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here. Is that Diana?”

Neal sighed, “Yeah, okay, I’m going to put the phone on speaker.

Diana said, “Hi Boss, I have some information for you. I think I know who did this.”

Peter immediately said, “I can’t believe you did this, Diana. I thought I could trust you more than anyone.”

Diana sighed, “I know. I deserve that. You can discipline me anyway you think is right when this is over, but please let me help you now while I can.”

Peter’s anger faded and he assured her, “Of course, I need your help, Diana. What have you found out?”

“Well, the guard I assigned to place and remove the camera is named Bob Arnold. He resigned from the Bureau last week citing personal reasons. I checked the camera I stored in the Evidence Room and it’s empty. The disk is missing,” she told them.

Neal asked, “What have you found about this guy Arnold?”

Diane replied, “You know, basic information: last address, phone number, identifying information, service record. I pulled his file. It would be a lot easier if I could bring Jones in to help.”

Peter immediately said, “No, I don’t want anyone else to know about this.”

Diana reminded him gently, “It’s not exactly a secret from Jones what you and Neal were doing up in that hotel room under the influence of that drug, Boss.”

Peter hung his head. Neal interjected, “Diana, I think you should bring Jones in if you think he can help. Swear him to secrecy and don’t involve anyone else, ok?”

“I only watched the beginning of the disk, Boss,” Diana said, “I haven’t seen the whole thing and I don’t think anyone else needs to see it either if we can wrap this up quickly.”

“OK. Well, you follow up on the missing agent, Diana. Have Jones check with DEA on the status of the case against Maya Pharmaceuticals. Neal and I are going to go over to the hotel to see if we can find anyone suspicious there who may be in on this,” instructed Peter.

Neal was relieved to see Peter taking charge again. After they ended the call with Diana, he asked carefully, “What about Elizabeth?”

Peter winced and said, “I can’t tell her until we know more. I just can’t.”

“You can’t lie to her either, Peter. You know you’re no good at that,” Neal reminded him.

Peter groaned and laughed, “I need another drink.”

“That gives me an idea,” said Neal brightly. “I’ll call her this evening and tell her you dropped by here on the way home from work and you drank too much so you’re going to have to spend the night.”

Peter said, “You know I hate to lie to Elizabeth.”

“Well, you’re not. I am,” said Neal fondly.”Anyway, at the rate you were going when I got here, it would have been true very soon.”

Peter groaned, “Oh, what a mess I’ve gotten into.” Neal stroked his shoulder and said, “Then let’s just get you out of it.”

They spent the afternoon discussing the situation, developing theories and formulating plans. When it got dark, Neal called Elizabeth.

“Hey Elizabeth,” he greeted her lightly. “I have a bit of a situation here.”

“Is Peter alright?” she asked immediately.

“Oh, well, yeah, that’s why I am calling,” Neal lied glibly. “He came back here after work and started drinking Scotch and I don’t think he’s in any shape to come home tonight.”

“You sound okay,” El noted. “Is anything the matter?” 

“Oh, well, I guess Peter had a rough day. He’s frustrated about a case we’re working on,” Neal told her. “You know I don’t drink Scotch.”

“Well, do you want me to come and get him?” she asked.

Neal replied quickly, “Oh no, he’ll be fine. He can stay here tonight.”

El laughed and teased, “Is this just an excuse for you to get my husband in bed, Neal?”

“Oh, you caught me!” Neal said, “Except he’s already passed out on the couch.”

“Okay then. If he wakes up, tell him I love him,” Elizabeth said, ending their conversation.

“I hate not telling El the truth,” fretted Peter, who listened to Neal’s end of the call.

Neal sighed, “Why don’t you drink another glass of Scotch to make it the truth.”

Peter answered, “That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.” He poured a generous amount for himself from the bottle. “What about you? Are you going to drink with me?”

Neal said distractedly, “I might have a glass of wine later. I want to think a little more. Why don’t you go drink that in the bathtub and relax and then go to bed.”

Peter laughed, “By myself?” Neal smiled at him gently and said, “Yep.”

Neal nursed a glass of good wine late into the night. He wondered if Mozzie could help and held that thought in reserve in case he needed him later. By the time he finally slept, Neal had come up with a plan to go over with Peter and Diana and Jones in the morning.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Peter greeted him cheerfully way too early in the morning. He brought Neal a glass of orange juice and Neal could smell breakfast cooking.

“Oh, someone must have slept well last night,” Neal teased, feeling relieved to see Peter more himself again.

Peter said, “Well, we need to get a move on. I called Diana and told her to bring Jones over here so we could meet in private. I want you dressed when they get here.”

Neal looked astounded. “Goes without saying,” he muttered. “Anything in particular you want me to wear?”

Peter said, “Come on, eat your breakfast and then put on one of your fancy suits. They’ll be here in about an hour.”

When Diana and Jones arrived, Neal was suitably dressed. He was eager to share his ideas with them and see if they had learned anything new. 

Jones started out with “Looks like we’re down to the Burke Four.”

Peter looked at him seriously and said, “The people I trust most in the world are in this room – except for Elizabeth. I don’t want her to know about this.”

Diana asked, “Do you really think that’s possible, Boss? I could talk to her if you’d like.”

Peter snapped, “You’ve done enough already, Diana. You stay away from my wife.” 

Diana looked like Peter had slapped her and he immediately apologized. “I’m sorry I said that. This situation is nobody’s fault but my own. I’ve been on edge since I received that disk yesterday morning.”

Jones jumped in, “I think I know who’s behind this. It’s Maya Pharmaceuticals.”

Neal concurred, “I agree. Underbrook must have gotten to the guard who planted the camera and gotten the disk from him before he returned the camera to Diana.”

Diana said, “Turns out Bob Arnold, the guard, left for an extended vacation in the Greek Islands the day after he resigned, which was the day after the incident at the hotel.”

Peter asked, “Any idea what the connection is between Arnold and Underbrook?”

Jones said, “We turned the investigation of Maya over to DEA, but they have continued to monitor the feed from the bug Neal planted. I got the transcripts.”

Peter blanched and then said, “Well, let’s see them. What do they say?”

Jones handed the transcript to Peter, saying, “I didn’t want to make any more copies, but of course, the DEA has the originals.”

Peter nodded and demanded, “Give me the bottom line, Jones. What do they say?”

Jones looked down as he reported, “Underbrook suspected you when you asked to take the drug a second time. He had you followed to the hotel where his man, a private dick named Al Turvena, spotted Bob Arnold and pegged him for FBI. He started a conversation with Arnold who let it slip that he was bored with his assignment, which he said was ‘babysitting’ an agent and his ‘boyfriend’ upstairs.”

Diana and Peter both winced. They didn’t realize it had been that obvious.

Jones continued, “Bottom line: Arnold let it slip that he had planted a camera and Underbrook’s man bought the disk from him for a lot of money.”

Neal speculated, “If Diana had noticed the disk was missing from the camera, Arnold would have said we must have discovered it and taken it.”

Diana said mournfully, “I wish you had. I’m so sorry, Boss. I was out of line. I feel so bad about this. If I hadn’t asked Arnold to place that camera, none of this would have happened.”

Peter said calmly, “You should not have planted a camera without telling me, but you’re right that Neal and I would have disabled it if we knew it was there.”

Neal asked Jones, “So what did Underbrook say when he got the disk?”

Jones reported, “He said he knew something was suspicious about Peter, but he hadn’t imagined he was a Fed. He thought he was probably a competitor. He doesn’t think Neal Anthem knew Peter Earnhardt wasn’t who he said he was either. In fact, at first, he thought maybe Neal was the target of the FBI investigation.”

Neal grinned like a cat who swallowed a canary. “Let’s hope he still thinks that. Only I’m going to convince him that I knew Peter was working for the Feds and I was trying to set him up.”

Peter said, “How will you approach him?”

"I’ll go to him and tell him I want in on his scheme to illegally distribute the drug. I’ll tip him off that I discovered you were a Fed and say I wanted to warn him,” Neal suggested.

Peter asked, “Jones, does the DEA know that Underwood is trying to get to me with the disk?”

Jones shook his head. “There’s nothing about that in the transcripts. He must have arranged that part away from his office.”

Neal said thoughtfully, “I’m going to have to pull that bug out of his office so the DEA won’t find out.”

Diana added, “If Neal could get Underwood’s copy of the disk, we could reveal the whole plot to try to blackmail Peter and nobody would ever have to know what was on it.”

Jones asked, “What about Underbrook’s private eye, Al Turvena? He might have a copy, too.”

Neal suggested, “He might have the only copy, if we’re lucky. Where’s his office? I could get Mozz to break in.”

Peter sighed, "I don’t want to hear this. And Mozzie? Really Neal?”

Diana giggled, “That’ll make us the Burke Five. Peter, please let me talk to Elizabeth and make it Six. You can’t hide something like this from her for very long.”

Neal agreed. “You know you can’t lie to her. She’ll understand and we may need her help. She has good ideas.”

Peter said indignantly, “My wife does not work for the FBI. And what makes you think she’ll be understanding if she sees that video?”

Neal offered, “You weren’t yourself? You were under the influence of a powerful aphrodisiac drug with opiate and hallucinogenic properties. We both were.”

Diana said firmly, “Nobody has to see any more of that video than we already have. We’ll give Peter whatever disks we find and he can destroy them.”

Peter gave in. “OK, I’ll talk to Elizabeth tonight. Now we should all go to the office and do our regular jobs before someone gets suspicious.”

Neal said, “Except me. I have important work to do.”

Peter frowned, “You’re not going in there without back-up. We have to figure out some way to get this case back from DEA, so we can monitor you, Neal.”

Jones suggested, “Let’s tell them that Underbrook contacted Neal for a meeting. Neal’s our guy. We back him up.”

Neal preened, “Yeah, I’m your guy!” Diana growled threateningly, “Caffrey, shut up.” Neal pretended to zip his lips.

Peter said, “OK? Meet back here tomorrow morning? Neal, is it okay if we meet here?” 

Neal grinned, “Of course, mi casa es su casa and….”

Peter interrupted him, “I know, mi problemo es su problemo."

That evening, when Peter got home, El greeted him with a kiss, “Hey Hon, feeling better? What got you so upset last night that you had to drown your sorrows in Scotch?”

Peter took a deep breath and said, “Hon, I need to talk to you.”

“Sounds serious,” El said. “What is it, Peter?”

Peter asked lightly, “How’d you like to join the Burke Five and make it the Burke Six to defend my honor?”

El frowned, “What’s this all about?”

Peter sighed, “Remember the night Neal and I were investigating the pharmaceutical company and we spent the night in a hotel?”

El reminded him, “Sure, I remember you calling me when you were higher than a kite.”

“Oh, I forgot about that” Peter admitted. “Anyway, someone planted a camera in that room and it recorded some embarrassing footage and now someone is trying to blackmail me with the disk from that camera.”

El was silent as she took in what he told her. Then she asked, “How embarrassing?”

Peter begged, “Please El, let’s just say Neal and I were, um, kissing.”

El smiled and said playfully, “Oh, you were just kissing? That's so embarrassing.”

Peter looked miserable, “Well, kissing and, you know, other stuff.”

“I want to see that disk,” El laughed. “No, Hon,” Peter told her. “No, you don’t.”

“OK, so what’s the Burke Five or Six going to do about it?” she asked.

“Well, we’re working on that,” Peter said. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. “I have a wonderful wife,” he said sincerely, “I love you so much.”

“Mmm,” El giggled naughtily, “Let’s go upstairs and maybe you can show me some of the ‘other stuff’ you and Neal did in the hotel room.”

Neal couldn’t sleep again. After a couple of glasses of wine, he was still feeling conflicted about the situation with Peter. He hated the idea that Peter was ashamed of him or wished he had never had sex with him, but then he felt responsible because he knew he had seduced Peter all the way. Neal knew he had suggested that they take the aphrodisiac drug a second time so he could he have another glorious day of sex with Peter. 

Now Peter was in trouble because of it. Even if Neal could manage to get Peter out of it, would Peter still want him? And how well known was it at the Bureau that Peter and Neal were lovers? Neal knew they hadn’t been as discreet as they should have been, but how much did that matter?

He finally fell into a restless sleep just hours before Peter and the rest arrived for their meeting. Neal hoped he looked better than he felt.

Peter told them El couldn’t come to their meeting because she had her own job to go to, but he told them she was very understanding. “I just don’t want her to see that video,” he stressed.

Jones reported that the DEA was about ready to move in on Maya Pharmaceuticals because they had evidence on tape of Hal Underwood bragging about his plan to distribute the drug illegally through a couple of mob bosses.

Neal said, “If you can figure some way to pull them off, maybe I can convince him that he’s in the clear because his blackmail of Peter worked.”

Peter nodded. “Right, if they think I did what they wanted and they’re in the clear, then all we need to do is retrieve their copies of the disk. When DEA busts them, Hal will think they already know about it and anyway he won’t have a copy to show them. It might work.”

“What’s your pretext for going in, Neal?” asked Jones.

“Well, Hal originally wanted Peter to distribute the drug ‘under the counter’ in his chain of drug stores. How about I contact him and ask him to discuss that possibility with me?” Neal suggested.

“Have you contacted Mozzie yet? We have the name and address of Underwood’s private dick,” Diana told them.

“I’ll call him tonight,” Neal agreed.

“Now all we have to do is call the DEA off long enough for Neal to get in and do what he needs to do,” said Peter. “Let’s go to work and meet again tomorrow morning.”

When everyone else had gone, Peter noticed how quiet Neal was and how tired he looked. He went over to him and hugged him tightly, nuzzling the top of his head. “Neal…” he said, not knowing what to say.

Neal nestled into Peter’s strong arms and solid chest and sighed. “Just hold me for a minute,” he said.

“I know. I will,” Peter said gently. He tried again to find the right words to say. “Neal…” was as far as he could get.

Neal said, “That’s all right. You don’t have to say anything. Do you think you could kiss me?”

Peter looked at him with his soft brown eyes and lifted Neal’s chin and gave him a warm kiss. But neither of them felt any sexual response.

Neal wondered if that was how Elizabeth felt sometimes when Peter was preoccupied.

That night, Mozzie came by Neal’s apartment in response to Neal’s call. “You and the Suit on video? Really? Have I taught you nothing, Neal?”

Neal sighed, “Come on, Mozz, lay off. Can you help me or not?” Mozzie pouted, “With that attitude, I’ll have to think about it.” Neal said sharply, “All right, I’ll just have to do it myself then.” Mozzie responded, “Not by yourself, you’re not. Leave it to me.” Neal smiled at him, “Thanks, Mozz. I knew I could count on you.”

The next morning, Peter received another note. This one said, “You have three days to call off the investigation or the disk goes to your boss, Fed.”

No one was surprised, but it did force them to speed up their planning. That night, Mozzie triumphantly returned to Neal’s apartment with a copy of the disk in hand. He swore he hadn’t viewed it and handed it over to Neal.

The next day, Peter called the DEA Agent In Charge of the Maya Pharmaceutical operation and proposed that his CI make contact with the Director, Hal Underbrook, to see if he could get him to propose his deal for illegal distribution of the new drug. The DEA Agent agreed because his investigation had basically stalled and they were committing a lot of hours to it.

Peter told him, “You can have the case for prosecution, but my people have to be the ones to monitor my CI and back him up.”

Surprisingly, DEA agreed and Peter was able to get approval from the FBI to go ahead, too.

Neal decided to drop in on Hal in person rather than call for an appointment. As he hoped, curiosity led Underbrook to agree to meet with him.

Neal told him, “I’m here to give you a head’s up. My boss Peter Earnhardt is working with the Feds.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” laughed Hal. “When did you figure that out?”

Neal said, “You knew? How did you find out?”

Hal confided his scheme to have Neal and Peter followed when they left his office after taking the drug. He described how his private eye had discovered the FBI guard and bribed him to get the disk from a camera that had been planted in the room.

Neal laughed and said, “Oooh, bet there’s some good stuff on that video. That was a wild day!”

“Yeah, there’s plenty on there. Want to see it?” Hal asked.

“Oh yeah,” Neal said enthusiastically. "I’d love to see it! What are you going to do with it anyway?”

“I’m using it to bribe the FBI plant. The DEA has been getting a little too close for comfort, if you know what I mean,” Hal confided. "I figure I can get Earnhardt to call them off.”

“I didn’t know you were doing anything illegal, Hal,” Neal said innocently.

Hal chuckled, “Do you really think the FDA would ever approve that drug? And even if they did, it’s worth so much more on the black market. You tried it. Don’t you think people will pay to get their hands on it anyway they can?”

“I’m sure they will. Hey, maybe I could get some of our pharmacies to stock it ‘under the counter’ for customers who asked for it,” Neal enthused.

“That’s what I had in mind in when I contacted you and Peter Earnhardt in the first place,” Hal admitted.

“Wow,” said Neal. “Hey, could I watch that video now? Maybe we can use it for advertising to show the pharmacists how good it is. You can’t just drug everybody's coffee.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea. I hate to waste the product anyway,” Hal agreed. "Can I get you a cup of coffee while I go get that video set up?”

Neal said cautiously, “Just coffee, Hal?” Hal responded, “Of course, just coffee, Neal.”

When Hal returned with a disk player and inserted the video, Neal uttered the code word and Peter and Diana and Jones burst in to arrest Hal on grounds of planning to distribute an illegal drug and they seized the disk. DEA agents entered right behind them to search the premises and seize the supply of the illegal aphrodisiac as well as incriminating documents.

In the ensuing confusion, Peter forgot about Neal. When he found him, Peter looked at his dilated pupils and dazed look and said, “Oh no, Neal, tell me you didn’t drink the coffee!”

Neal’s blue eyes twinkled and he said, “Only half of it,” showing Peter the rest of it in the mug he held in his hand.

“Oh no,” Peter said, “Ohhh, no.” 

Neal gave him a sexy look and pleaded, “You’re not going to make me do this by myself, are you? I got the video for you. If you drink this now, you’ll have an hour before it starts working. Just enough time to finish your paperwork and take me home. Please, Peter."

Peter laughed and looked down at Neal's cock already bulging in his pants. “Oh, what the hell,” he said, as he took the mug and drank the tainted coffee. Even before the intoxicating drug kicked in, he could feel himself getting nice and hard just from looking at the desire in his handsome lover's beautiful sparkling blue eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> The drug and the pharmaceutical company in the story are completely fictional.
> 
> The White Collar characters were created by Jeff Eastin for the television series on USA TV.


End file.
